In Belvidere North’s last game, the Blue Thunder just missed a chance to end Boylan’s record NIC-10 win string.

Now the Blue Thunder (5-4) get a second chance at the Titans with even bigger stakes on the line.

North (5-4) will play at No. 1-ranked Boylan in the first round of the Class 6A football playoffs this week after rallying from 24 points down only to lose 38-34 on a touchdown two weeks ago before getting a forfeit win last week.

“Our kids are looking forward to it,” coach Jeff Beck said. “Offensively, we do some things that present problems for them. Hopefully, we can take advantage of them and not let them get out in front as much as they did in the first game.”

Jace Bankord threw for 378 yards against Boylan and the Titans gave up 298 yards in the air to Belvidere last week.

Guilford (7-2) dropped down to 6A for the first time and gets a home game against traditional power Cary-Grove (6-3). The Vikings would face Boylan or North in the second round if they advance.

“They beat us a few years ago, but they are not the same team they’ve been in the past and we’re not the same team we’ve been,” Guilford coach Mel Gilfillan said of Cary-Grove. “We were really hoping for a home game so we could play on the astroturf. That’s a difference maker for us. We’re a quick, athletic team.”

Harlem (6-3) is a No. 14 seed and plays at Glenbard West (8-1) in 7A while Hononegah (7-2), the other NIC-10 team in the playoffs, is a No. 8 seed at home against No. 9 Highland Park (7-2). There are only two 8-1 teams with everyone else having at least two losses in the eight teams in Hononegah’s quadrant.

“It’s certainly nice,” Hononegah coach Tim Sughroue said. “In all of 7A, there are only two undefeated teams, and they are in the South. Everybody’s been beat.”

Rochelle (5-4) dropped down to Class 4A and could make one of its frequent low-seed runs. The No. 14 Hubs play at Chicago Payton in the first round and could play a pair of teams from the smaller-school Big Northern in the next two rounds, No. 6 Lutheran (8-1) and No. 2 Harvard (9-0).

So does undefeated No. 1 seed Eastland/Pearl City in 2A. The Wildcatz could play at No. 5 Sterling Newman (8-1) in the second round.

“There are so many undefeated teams in 2A that you are going to see a lot of 8-1 teams on the road throughout the state,” coach Randy Asche said. “That doesn’t happen often. That shows you the magnitude of how stacked 2A is. You’re going to need to run a daunting gantlet to get to the state finals in DeKalb,”